In the Community, there is no more pain or war. Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean of destructive emotions, and thoughts are replaced by a feed from the Link network.

When Zoe starts to malfunction (or “glitch”), she suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings, and identity. Any anomalies must be immediately reported and repaired, but Zoe has a secret so dark it will mean certain deactivation if she is caught: her glitches have given her uncontrollable telekinetic powers.

As Zoe struggles to control her abilities and stay hidden, she meets other glitchers including Max, who can disguise his appearance, and Adrien, who has visions of the future. Both boys introduce Zoe to feelings that are entirely new. Together, this growing band of glitchers must find a way to free themselves from the controlling hands of the Community before they’re caught and deactivated, or worse.

Furthest point reached: 13%

Issues in bullet points:

Thrown into Zoe’s struggle/”glitching” without any set-up of her world or life

Insta-love-esque feel

Hard to suspend disbelief that she was not only glitching, but that it created superpowers in her as well

Finally, a certain scene that seemed like it was written to establish a certain character as “good” and the society as “bad,” but only succeeded in making my feminist feels RISE.

Summation:

Some of these are personal preferences while others are, I believe, weaknesses in the plotting. The novel may have improved as it went on, and it may work better for others. But it didn’t enthrall me enough to continue on. Unfortunately, I had to mark it as:

There are 2 Comments for this entry.

This one looks so promising, so I’m disappointed to hear that you couldn’t finish it. I hate scenes that are thrown in to establish something without advancing the story and really just present something else as completely problematic. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but I think you know what I mean.

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About Jen

Jen is a twenty-something who lives and breathes words. Sometimes she eats them too, but only when she's feeling peckish.

This blog is focused primarily on Young Adult literature, but writing thoughts sneak in now and again. Random thoughts used to sneak in quite often, but now, not so much. For more varied content, you can visit Jen's personal blog, Speaking Jenerally.

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